A Road Alone
by Lailara
Summary: This is so AU; it's not even funny. Imagine if women hadn't been allowed to be Jedi, until the Council defied the Senate's wishes and began training her. This is her story. I repeat: AU!


Title: A Road Alone  
Author: AriellaGiselle  
Rating: PG  
Distribution: my usual haunts  
Author's notes: I couldn't kill this plot after seeing SW:E2, so here, it exists.  
Disclaimer: Anybody you recognize belongs to George Lucas. Anybody you don't belongs to me, especially Denamae Gann. No copyright infringement is intended on Mr. Lucas's right and domain.  
  
Dedication: to Kel, who kicked my butt into writing this. Thanks, doll! I owe ya one!  
  
*****  
  
Denamae stood at the edge of the balcony overlooking Couresant. The city was -- as usual -- quite busy, and she couldn't imagine living anywhere else.   
  
Her father would be home any moment, and he would expect her to have dinner arranged. She trudged back into the kitchen, flicking the droid on as she did.   
  
"Come on, T14, let's make dinner," she said. The pots and pans laid themselves out on the cabinets as the utensils came from their drawers.  
  
"Yes, miss," the machine responded, seemingly used to the dishes moving of their own volition. "When is Master Di-Tohn due to return, Miss Denamae?"  
  
Dena looked up from her cooking to glare at the droid who had begun working on another part of the meal. "Same time he gets home every day, T. He'll be home in an hour. He and Master Yoda had a meeting with the senator from the Trade Federation this afternoon, so he will be ravenous when he arrives. Get to it!" she chided, motioning with her knife to the bowls in front of the T14. Sometimes, she wasn't sure why her father kept the droid around; it was mostly useless. She was capable of doing the cooking and cleaning all by herself; she didn't need the help.  
  
But most days, it was nice to have someone to talk to after lessons. Denamae often finished lessons so early in the day that she would sit for hours, boredom eating away at her. It wasn't as if her father allowed actual toys in his household. There was an old computer and a few spare parts from broken light sabers, but other than that, there was nothing for a 14 year old girl to play with.  
  
Some days, she could amuse herself by rearranging the furnature in the small apartment while sitting in her favorite chair, the couch, tables and trinkets floating around her. If only I were a boy, she often wished. If she had been born a boy, she would've been allowed to train with her father as a Jedi. She would be a padawan, something she wanted more than anything in the entire Republic.  
  
The Jedi Council was not to be faulted, she knew that; it was the Senate that objected to the training of a female Jedi. It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair, and it wasn't right. Her father knew this, and, against the wishes of the Senate, trained her in the privacy of their home. Nothing like the training she would have received at the Jedi Temple, but it was better than no training at all. A girl so strong in the force would be dangerous without a modicum of training, her father had explained to her 9 years ago when they began the "games."  
  
Her father. Master Di-Tohn Gann was one of the older Jedis on the council. He was not her real father, but the only father Denamae had ever known. After her parents were killed in the Kessel spice mines on the Outer Rim, Di-Tohn had felt it had been his responsibility to care for the young daughter they had left behind. He never explained to Denamae his decision, but she knew he would when he was ready to tell her, and more importantly, when she was ready to hear it.  
  
A beep signalling someone's presence at the front door woke Denamae from her mental wonderings, and she wiped her hands on her skirt, leaving the kitchen for the foyer and the door.  
  
Checking the screen, she saw a man in Jedi dress, waiting respectfully for an answer. Opening the door, Denamae asked, "Can I help you, Master...?"  
  
"Oh, I am not a master. Not yet anyway. My name's Qui-Gon. Qui-Gon Jinn," the boy answered. Denamae noted that he seemed exceptionally nervous.  
  
"Nice to meet you, Qui-Gon. Won't you come in?" she asked. She moved away from the door, and with an inviting gesture, the young man stepped in. "Can I get you anything to drink? To eat?" Denamae flitted toward the kitchen to prepare tea for the guest. Father would be most displeased to learn that she had entertained a padawan and not offered her highest hospitality.   
  
Denamae actually hated entertaining other Jedi, but there was something about this boy. He was...nice. Not hugs and kisses nice, but brotherly nice. Besides, no hugs and kisses nice could be applied to him; she knew he was 5 years older than her.  
  
"No, thank you, Miss Denamae. I have a message from your father." Qui-Gon shifted his weight anxiously, his eyes glancing around the room as if looking for a threat.  
  
"Oh?" She exited the kitchen, her hands clasped gently in front of her body, her head tilted to one side. "You are uneasy, padawan. What is it Master Yoda says? 'Your thoughts betray you.'" A smile ghosted across her innocent features, leaving her looking older and harder than ever. Qui-Gon managed an answering, tight-lipped smile. "You have a message."  
  
He looked at her, confusion painted on his too young face, finally being replaced with realization. "Oh, yes. Master Di-Tohn Gann requested that I bring you to the Jedi Temple. He wants to introduce you to someone, I believe."  
  
She snorted indelicately. "Oh, is that all? Father is always wanting me to meet someone. It's probably a senator this time." Inwardly, she winced at how aloof she sounded. Normally, visitors wised up to her games early in the conversation, but Qui-Gon was falling for all her tricks, and they just weren't fun anymore. "I shall grab my cloak." She bowed her head and moved off to her room, stopping in the kitchen to turn the stoves off.  
  
She returned, and as she pulled the heavy crimson velvet around her shoulders, she could almost hear Qui-Gon's synapses firing. "Calm down, Qui-Gon. I won't bite. I'm just a little girl, remember? Nothing to be nervous about."  
  
His blue eyes widened and a breath let itself out of his body. He laughed unsuredly. "No, I'm not nervous, miss. It's just that this is my first time on a mission without my Master, and I want to do well."   
  
Denamae allowed herself to be lead out of the small apartment and toward the building's landing platforms. "You are not on a mission, padawan. You are a messenger boy; nothing more," she said around a warm smile. At the falling of his face, she added, "But that will not always be so." A bright and eager grin crossed his features, and he opened the hatch of his speeder to help her in to the cockpit.  
  
The burnt orange sky glared at her as if it were angry, but if it were cross with her, she would not have cared; it was always mad about something. Just like Senator Nefrinat. The Senator would yell and shout until he was hoarse, but no one in the Senate, or the Republic, for that matter, seemed to listen to him.  
  
They reached the Temple quickly and made their way inside to the Council Tower. Qui-Gon said that Master Di-Tohn would meet them there, and Denamae was all right with that. She enjoyed visiting the Temple. The beautiful archetecture and sculptures were enought to entertain her for hours.  
  
Finally, they reached the Council Chambers, and Qui-Gon alerted to Council to their arrival. The duo did not have to wait long before they were beckoned into the Chambers.  
  
"Father, Master Yoda, Masters of the Council. I hope you are all well," Denamae recited the traditional outsider's greeting with perfect eloqution; it was a speech she learned before she began actually speaking. That's what it felt like sometimes.  
  
"A fine day, it is. Look well, you do. Feel well, hmm?" Master Yoda spoke, his voice soothing and familiar. Denamae had always liked Master Yoda, even if she did feel a little intimidated by him. There was just something about the eldest Jedi; something kind and warm.  
  
"Yes, thank you, Master Yoda." She bowed her head slightly. "I have been informed that you wished to speak with me, sirs. I await your wisdom." Denamae sank to her knees, resting back on her heels. It was all so formal, but if it meant spending time in the presence of such honored and respected people, then a little formality would not hurt anything.  
  
Master Yoda nodded to the newest man on the council, a rather imposing man named Mace Windu, who turned to Denamae. "Do you know who Senator Dinaceuas is?"  
  
The name was certainly familiar, but Denamae could not recall his face. "Only the name, Master."  
  
"He is a very powerful man in the Senate. His people, the Xinox, believe that men should run the politics and military, and the women should run the home and domestic affairs. Do you understand?"  
  
"Yes, Master. He objects to my training with my father because I am a female. But I have a question, Master."  
  
"Ask, child."  
  
"Forgive my audacity, but when did the Jedi ask permission from the Senate on who is to be trained?"  
  
"You are not being audacious, child; it is a valid question. And one that is hard to answer. There has never been a female Jedi before, and the Senator believes that if you were to become powerful enough to gain a seat on the Council, you might fight for a seat in the Senate as well."  
  
"Why would I do that? I only want to train. I only want to be a Jedi, Master."  
  
Mace Windu leaned back in his seat, a tired expression on his handsome face. "The Xinox also believe that most women are inherently deceptive and greedy, even politically power-hungry. We may believe that their beliefs are wrong, but that is what they are: beliefs. And as pupils of the Force, we must respect their beliefs, if we are to have any hope of them respecting ours. Do you understand, child?"  
  
"Yes, Master."  
  
"Good. Master Di-Tohn Gann?"  
  
Denamae's face lit up as her father turned toward her. "Denamae, it is the decision of the Council that you are to be trained in the ways of the force." He stood, motioning for her to do the same, and she felt his large hands on her shoulders. "I take Denamae Gann as my padawan learner. Does the Council have any objections?"  
  
Each member of the Council shook and bowed his head toward the center of the circle where Denamae and her father stood. Her blue eyes shone with a brilliance that Di-Tohn had never seen before, and it warmed his heart to see his daughter so happy. It had been a great deal of work convincing the Council that she was worth it, and he was positive that they would not be let down.  
  
"Thank you, Masters. May the Force be with you," Di-Tohn said, turning to leave. Denamae remained at the center of the Council Chambers.  
  
"More to say, have you, child?" Master Yoda asked.  
  
Denamae nodded. "Yes, Master. Why did Master Mace explain about Senator Dinaceuas and his people?"  
  
Master Yoda glanced at Mace Windu, who opened his mouth to answer the question. "We told you about the Xinox so that you might be prepared. This path that you have accepted will not be an easy one, child. You will face opposition and those who think that a woman should not be a Jedi. We think that the Jedi are ready for a woman, but the universe may not be ready to accept it. We want you and your father to anticipate everything and take nothing for coincidence. Be mindful of your surroundings, child. May the Force be with you both."  
  
"Thank you, sirs, and I won't let you down. May the Force be with you, Master Yoda, Masters of the Council." Denamae bowed and followed her father out of the Council Chambers.  
  
Finally, the day had come. She was a padawan learner, a Jedi's apprentice, and she could not have been happier.  
  
*****  
  
tbc... 


End file.
